Amanda Knox has been cleared of murder for the second time, following a ruling by Italy's Supreme Court on March 27. The ruling also frees co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's one-time romantic partner. The 27-year-old was tried in-absentia, while Sollecito was in Rome to be tried in the courtroom.
Meredith Kercher was killed in Perugia, Italy during November 2007, and the defendants were convicted of her murder in December 2009. That ruling was overturned in October 2011, but the pair were re-convicted in 2014.
Kercher was a student from Britain, studying in Italy at the time of her death. The 21-year-old was sharing an apartment with Knox when she was discovered n the home, dead of slit throat.
Knox awaited the court decision outside her family home in Arbor Heights, Washington, just outside Seattle. When the announcement was made, she and her family erupted in cheers.
"Meredith was my friend and she deserved so much in this life. I am the lucky one. I'm incredibly grateful for what has happened. For the justice I have received, for the support I have had from everyone, from my family and my friends to strangers," Knox told reporters after the highest court in Italy overturned her conviction.
As the Knox family awaited the decision, neighbors sent several bottles of champagne to those holding vigil outside the home. Soon after the announcement, the gathered crowd broke out dancing in the street in celebration.
Following the original conviction, Knox was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and Sollecito was ordered to spend 26 years behind bars. Four years later, a court in Perugia overturned their convictions, and the two returned to the United States. In January 2014, a ruling in Florence reinstated the original conviction, and raised Knox's sentence to 28.5 years behind bars.
Rudy Guede, who prosecutors contend was a small-time drug dealer, is currently serving a 16-year sentence for the murder of the English student. However, unanswered questions about the murder suggest accomplices may have taken part in the killing.
"I think that it's a defeat for the Italian justice system. It seems the killer who acted with Rudy Guede has no name. The judges found that the proof was not sufficient," Francesco Maresca, attorney for the Kercher family, told reporters.
This ruling from the Supreme Court of Cassation is the final decision in the case, ending the long legal battle which has raged for seven years. Both defendants in the case have maintained their innocence throughout the case.
Knox tells reporters that she will never again enter Italy voluntarily following her experience.
